Base-ball glove.



B. T. ROGERS.

BASE BALL GLOVE.

APPLICATION 11,111; 001529, 1908.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

INVENZOR.

$1 jwzzw g ATTORNEY.

Tn; NORRIS PETERS co., wAsnmsmu, D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BURT T. ROGERS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO VICTORSPORTING GOODS COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION.

BASE-BALL GLOVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

Application filed October 29, 1908. Serial No. 460,055.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BURT T. ROGERS, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Base-BallGloves, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of a combined glove and mittsuch as is used by players of the game of base-ball.

Heretofore it has been customary to manufacture a mitt, so called, whichis used especially by a player occupying certain positions in the game,and a glove which is used by players occupying certain other positions.There are many reasons why it is desirable to use a protective coveringfor the hand of the player which will possess the qualities of both ofthese devices. When a glove is used, a ball striking it can be much morefirmly and surely held than would be possible if the player wore a mitt;and on the other hand, the fingers of the glove being separated theleather is very frequently split where the fingers join the palm owingto the hard impact of the ball thereagainst. Furthermore, with a handcovering in the form of a mitt possessing the requisite flexibility inthe finger portion, a player is less likely to fail of catching a ballthan where a glove construction is used, owing to the fact that a ballis more completely pocketed in a mitt than in a glove; but a mitt, as atpresent generally constructed, is not flexible enough to permit thefingers to freely close over a ball, the finger portions of a mitt beingsewed along their edges to the back of the mitt to provide separate, butnot separated or separable, finger portions.

The object of the present invention is to provide a hand covering havingall of the characteristics of flexibility found in a glove, togetherwith the command of the finger portion thereof, and at the same timeembodying the more desirable characteristics of a mitt.

The invention consists essentially in a complete fielders glove, thepalm' side of which has applied thereto a loose facing of leather orlike flexible material which is stitched to the edges of the glove andto the tips of the fingers thereof, as hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the claim.

The invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawing inwhich,-

Figure 1 is an elevation of the back side of a combined glove and mittembodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on line 22,Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken on line 33, Fig. 1.

Referring to these drawings, a indicates the glove as a whole; I) thelining or the internal padding thereof, and c the flexible covering ofleather or like material applied to the palm side thereof. The glove maybe in all respects like an ordinary fielders glove provided with theusual internal felt padding for the palm and finger portions. The facingof flexible covering 0 of leather or the like is cut to conform to thecontour of the main portion of the glove, and following a line tangentto the tips of the separated fingers of the latter, to the end that thisfacing may be stitched to the glove along the bottom edge thereof and oneach side up as far as the end of the little finger and the end of thethumb, said facing bridging the space between the thumb and fore fingerand each of the other fingers, the latter being secured to the facing,preferably only at the tips thereof, the object being to cover the palmside of the glove with a loose flexible facing attached to the glove,preferably atthe border thereof only.

l/Vhen the finger-tips are secured to the facing the fingers are spreadapart to the end that this facing may act as a loose Web between thefingers thereby permitting the requisite lateral movement to the fingersnecessary to insure to the player the complete use or command of thefingers, both laterally and at right angles thereto as when the fingersclose over a ball.

In fielders gloves asordinarily constructed at present, a Web d ofleather is stitched to the outside of the fore finger and the inside ofthe thumb to close the space between these two members whereby a morecomplete pocket for the ball may be formed in the palm; and, preferably,this web is embodied in the construction forming the subject matter ofthis application, and the edge of the facing 0 contiguous to the edge ofthis web stitched thereto, as at 6, Figs. 1 and 3, thereby providing adouble thickness of web between the thumb and fore finger. Thisprovision, however, of a double thickness of web between these membersis not considered as an essential feature of the invention for by takingpains to strongly secure the tip of the fore finger and the tip of thethumb to the casing that part of the latter between the fore finger andthumb would be made to serve the same purpose the web (Z serves in anordinary fielders glove; but, as stated, the preferred construction isto use the glove as atpresent generally constructed and provide the samewith the facing in the manner described, thus doubling the thickness ofthe web cl.

The herein described combined glove and mitt has all of the advantagesof both of these devices, viz.,it has the same fiexibility as a gloveand leaves the fingers free for movement both laterally and at rightangles thereto, and the facing applied to the glove not only serves toprevent the splitting of the palm where the fingers are joined theretobut the loose facing for the palm side of the glove serves as a materialadded protection to the hand and therefore will permit a reduction inthe thickness of the padding in the glove. Furthermore, the extension ofthe facing over the palm side of the glove, and the provision of theloose webbing between the fingers not only assures a safer handling ofthe ball but greatly protects the fingers of the player as the latterare, by reason of the webbing between them,

- made self-supporting in a measure: that is to say with the facingextending over the palm side of the glove and. attached to the latter asdescribed, if a ball should strike the second finger, for example, nearthe tip, if the player had 011 an ordinary glove that linger would haveno support whatever and might be forced backward and injured; when,however, the tips of the fingers are secured to the border of a facingmaterial, as leather, and the end of the second finger should be sostruck, the resistance of all four fingers would be available to resistthe impact of the ball since the four fingers are all connected togetherby the facing. And, furthermore, it is possible to easily remove thefacing and apply a new one, the glove itself being practicallyindestructible because of the facing applied to the palm which is thepart subjected to the greatest wear. In some fielders gloves, as generally constructed, the web d is replaced by a lacing and in that casethe facing a would be applied in the same manner as described hereinexcept that it would not be attached thereto between the fore finger andthe thumb.

That I claim, is

A glove consisting of separate and independent finger-pieces and a loosepliable facing therefor having substantially the outline of the handwhen the fingers are more or less spread, said glove being secured tothe facing only at points along the border there of with the fingersspread more or less to provide a loose web between the fingers when thelatter are spread apart.

BURT T. ROGERS.

Witnesses:

K. I. CLnMoNs, H. W. BOWEN.

